


Mundanity in a Galaxy Far, Far Away ... Part 1

by koalathebear



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, No Plot/Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 09:55:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 16,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5623174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bunch of random and unconnected snippets of mundaneness, written as they occur to me or in response to prompts.  You can prompt me <a href="http://koalathebear.tumblr.com/ask">here</a>.  </p><p>Plotless, I just like the idea of exploring mundane/ordinary snippets of their lives.  My own head canon.  I'll try to label the various chapters clearly given that they're unconnected. I didn't want to spam ao3 so am putting them all together in here.  Ratings will vary depending on the chapter.</p><p>These were written after The Force Awakens but before The Last Jedi came out.  For the ones that were written after The Last Jedi, please see <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/13203024">Part 2</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monthly visitor (Rey) (Gen, pre-TFA)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set before The Force Awakens - Rey living on Jakku.
> 
> WARNING: This chapter deals with menstruation because ... well Rey would have got her period at some point and not had a clue what the hell was going on with her body.

The first time Rey's menses come, she thinks she's going to die. She's heard the stories of people who have bled to death … Perhaps it's too much exposure to the wrecks in the Graveyard … 

These are a ticking time bomb and even though Rey's always been more than careful, it's possible she's unwittingly been exposed to a lethal toxin. Vare Malago stepped on the loose end of a TIE bomber power trunking once. TIE fighter solar panels were often still collecting power and even though the trunking was beneath couple of centimetres of sand, he went up in flames like a torch.

The radiation could kill you … perhaps this blood was her body's way of protesting its exposure to some secret pathogen. 

Rey stares down at the bright red blood, a sense of helplessness building up inside of her. Should she use her emergency bio-injector? She's no physician. Her medical training has been restricted to what she's learned during a life of having to take care of herself and Niima Outpost's only medical droid had its arms ripped off by a scavenger a long time ago.

The horrible cramps make her even more convinced that the end is nigh and she brews herself tea from boiled nightblossom rind in an attempt to lessen the pain. Dragging out the schematics from an Imperial Class star destroyer, she frowns over the plans into the night.

Next morning she sets out towards the Graveyard. She ignores the bones in the sand even as she contemplates that maybe her bones will be joining them soon. There's no one to dig her grave here … best she can hope for is to lie down in the sand during the next sandstorm and wait for it to consume her.

Shaking off her uncharacteristic morbidity, she clambers inside the remains of a destroyer, searching for and eventually retrieving the computer and some datapads from the medical clinic. It takes her a couple of days but she repairs the computer and datapads and finally gets the answers she's been seeking. The Imperial medical database is clinical and matter-of-fact and she reads with increasing interest, mixed with horror.

She learns more about biology and anatomy (both human and alien) than has ever known before. With a sigh, she starts tearing a blanket into strips that can be boiled, dried and reused. 

At least she's not dying, even if it still feels like she is …


	2. Mundane (Poe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he isn't going on dangerous missions for General Organa ... Set post-The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

Poe's constantly busy. General Organa and Admiral Ackbar keep him on the move – task after task, mission after mission. His days are spent trying to find and recruit additional pilots, scouting missions, long-range reconnaissance and searching for signs of First Order movement and positions. 

Between scouting missions there are briefings, debriefings, and countless meetings. There's so much administration – pilot assessments and evaluations, reports to complete, requisitions to be made ... Occasionally he considers palming it off to palm off to one of his squadron members but more often than not, he does it himself because it's the right thing to do. Nien Nunb volunteers to help him out, a veteran of the Rebellion and the Resistance, he knows all about the administration side of things, but Poe can't bring himself to task the Sullustan with such banal duties.

It's also past time the fleet was upgraded. They've been patching up the T-70 X-wing fighters but the starships, donated by sympathetic members of the Republic are getting tired and this was very apparent during the Starkiller Base battle. 

General Organa knows about the problem – they all do, but given that the Republic lost half of its T-85 X-wing fleeting when the Hosnian System was destroyed by the First Order, it's going to be a while before any more donations are likely to be forthcoming. Incom-FreiTek is hardly going to donate any X-wings to the Resistance out of the goodness of its heart.

"We're just going to have to keep patching them up as best we can – same as we always have," Poe tells Goss Toowers ruefully. Goss shrugs. Shozers are a philosophical species, not inclined to complain.

*

Poe smiles as he sees Rey's slim figure standing beside Goss frowning over Jess' X-wing one day. When she's not training with Luke Skywalker, she's helping out the technical crew that provides mechanical support to the fleet. There's no doubt that she has real gift when it comes to repairing the X-wings and apart from Goss, she's the only mechanic to whom Poe will entrust serious repairs on Black One.

"You're a miracle worker," he remarks. "Don’t suppose you feel like doing my paperwork while you're at it?" he jokes as he, Finn inspect Black One under the proud gaze of Goss Toowers and Rey.

"Run, Rey run," Finn warns her jokingly.


	3. Table Manners (Poe & Rey & Finn friendship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I doubt anyone's ever taught Rey table manners. Set post-The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

Poe takes a swallow of water as he chews on his flatbread. He never ceases to be amazed at the amount of food Rey can put away. Some days, she acts like she's never eaten before – eating what appears to be enough food for two fully grown men. She's the most unfussy human he's ever met, too – grabbing and devouring all the food on her tray (and his) without even bothering to ask what it is.

"Do you want this?" Rey asks with her mouth full, pointing at the Corellian pudding on his tray.

"No, it's yours," he says with a grin.

"It's so delicious,” she tells him, cheeks puffed out with food. "My favourite."

"I thought the stewed Kebroot was your favourite?"

"That, too."

He laughs. "What did you eat on Jakku?"

"Pretty much lived on survival rations … "

Poe pulls a face. "Which ones?"

"Whatever Unkar Plutt's goons pulled out of the Graveyard – so they were Imperial rations and New Republic rations… the New Republic rations tasted better but the Imperial rations lasted longer. Everything I scavenged was for portions … he never let us have any money or barter for anything else … just scrap for portions …"

With an effort, Poe suppresses the look of sympathy in his eyes.

"One of the chefs is from Corellia – wait until you taste his creampuffs and spiceloaf."

Rey's mouth waters. "I simply cannot wait," she mutters.

*

"You really should say something to her about her table manners, Commander," Lieutenant Connix mutters in a sharp voice to Poe one day when they're in the command centre going through details for his next scouting mission.

"Why? She's not hurting anyone," Poe replies mildly.

"It's uncouth. You should correct her." Connix glares at him. 

"I'm not her master. Like I said, she's not hurting anyone."

"They're calling her the Junkyard Barbarian."

"Not to me they're not and if they're smart – it will stay that way," Poe replies coolly, his dark eyes meeting hers squarely.

*

"You want to say something or should I?" Finn asks one day when they're sitting in the mess hall and Rey ignores her cutlery and eats her food with her fingers. 

When she's done, she picks up her platter and licks it delicately, not wanting to waste any of the spicy sauce. Then she sets the platter down and licks her fingers.

"Neither. She'll figure things out for herself in time," Poe says with a shrug and Finn decides to follow Poe's lead on this one.

*

One day during a lull in the conversation, Rey suddenly becomes aware that people around her in the mess hall are staring at her and then looking away quickly when she returns their gaze. 

She looks across the table at Poe who's sitting there eating his dinner, fork in hand and chewing contemplatively. 

She stares down at her untouched cutlery and then over at Poe's face. "Everything all right?" he asks her and she nods and swallows hard before wiping her hands on her napkin.

She picks up her fork and watching him closely she eats the rest of her dinner. He doesn't say anything, merely picks up his knife and starts to cut the meat on his platter. 

*

After that, Rey waits before eating, keeping an eye on how everyone else eats before she eats her food. 

"How is it?" Poe asks.

"Wonderful," she replies with enthusiasm, about to wipe her mouth with her sleeve but she stops and instead wipes her mouth with her napkin.

"Any food left for me?" Finn asks, dropping into the seat beside her and sliding her tray over to peer through what's left.

"I got some for you, too," she tells him. "What took you so long?"

"Briefing with Admiral Ackbar. They've found out where the First Order is about to 'harvest' their next crop of children to become stormtroopers."

He glances over at Rey who is delicately eating her salad with a fork and he glances back at Poe who merely smiles and gives him an "I told you so" look.

"Did you know that that they were calling me the Junkyard Barbarian?" Rey asks in a quiet voice and Poe and Finn start choking on their food. Rey reaches out and pats Finn on the back hard. Poe's left to cough the food out of his lungs.

"You knew?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" she demands. "Everyone was laughing at me."

"Not everyone," Poe corrects her and reaches out very deliberately and picks up a piece of steak with his hands and starts chewing on it defiantly.

The other diners stop and stare and there's an offended snort from Lieutenant Connix who has just entered the mess hall. With a grin, Finn reaches out and picks up a piece of steak himself and starts eating it with his hands.

Rey stares between them in bemusement and around the mess hall at the eaters who are staring in astonishment. Then she shrugs and picks up a piece of steak with her fingers and starts eating it with gusto.


	4. It's cold outside but it's warm in bed (Poe/Rey, established relationship; Finn is a friend)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In response to [this prompt](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/136211013344/imagine-your-otp-just-cuddling-in-bed-during): _"Imagine your OTP just cuddling in bed during winter."_
> 
> Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out. Rey/Poe.

"Those are my socks," Poe remarks blandly, staring at Rey's feet.

"Yes?" she asks, also staring down at her feet.

Rey has taken to raiding his wardrobe. "Well Finn's got your jacket."

"And now you've got my socks. Three pairs of them in fact."

It's true. She's wearing three pairs of his socks at once, but she's absolutely freezing. Growing up on Jakku has in no way prepared her for the frigid chill of living on an ice planet. 

"I think I preferred D'Qar," she tells him, teeth chattering noisily on the day they arrive on the ice planet that's going to be their temporary home until the Resistance decides on a permanent location for its base.

"So did we all," he remarks as he pulls her fur-lined hood over her face and hastens her into the make-shift structure that will be their home for the next few weeks.

"She's stolen my socks, too buddy," Finn tells Poe when Poe goes to see if he can borrow any spare socks from his friend.

The nights are nice, though. More than nice. Rey curls against him, her body pressed warm and tight against him as he strokes her hair and holds her close. He can't tell if it's her heartbeat or his own and it doesn't matter … 

All that matters is that even though the temperature is dangerously low outside, they're warm as they cling together under the covers and she's welcome to all of his socks for the rest of her life.


	5. Scavenger (Poe & Rey & Finn friendship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set some time after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out. I alluded to it in [Lessons](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5572181), but it occurs to me that Rey would probably have a hard time giving up her scavenging ways.

Poe Dameron opens the door to the small room in his quarters that used to be his study. He stares meditatively at the pile of pumps, filters, impellers, valves, pistons, fuel injectors, inverters, capacitors and bearings. All are clean and all are arranged neatly, but there's no room for him in there anymore.

"You do know that you don't need to trade these for food anymore, Rey?" he questions her when she first starts storing the parts in his spare room.

"I know that but it's a crime to just throw these things out," she protests reproachfully, her dark eyes wide and almost beseeching.

 _Rey - here's a broken solar array_ , Goss Toowers tells her the next day.

"Enabler!" Poe glares at him accusingly. Goss merely smiles serenely and returns to work.

To be fair, the parts never go to waste. Rey seems to have an almost mystical ability to repair not just ships but the vehicles, the transport the ships, mechanical doors … Everything is assessed, cleaned and repurposed for use in something else … 

It's not just mechanical parts though. Even Poe's old socks – when they've been darned and repaired beyond further help, she transforms them into arm bands or unravels the fabric to make grab handles and all number of other items of utility. Old clothes become cloths, rags or dolls ... 

Old pots and pans and discarded circuitry get turned into toy droids that members of the Resistance buy from her to give to their children as gifts when they go back to their home planets to visit their families.

"Hey don't look at me, man," Finn protests when Poe appeals to him for support. "She worked some of her magic on my speeder – I'm not going to begrudge her hoarding junk if that's what she wants to do."

Finn had a point. Black One was flying better than she'd ever flown and that was largely thanks to Rey – and that was from Goss Toowers himself! This was Goss who never exaggerated and generally never praised anyone either. 

After their last skirmish with the First Order, there had been talk that Jess' X-wing was beyond repair and might have seen its last mission but after much conferring and planning by Goss, his team and Rey – the X-wing had been whisked off into the hanger. It had returned a week later, looking better than new and flying better than even a T-85 X-wing, much to Jess' joy.

"The Force can manifest itself in different ways," Luke Skywalker remarks when he observes Rey's handiwork. "My own father apparently built a droid when he was just a child … "

"Does the Force make people hoarders as well?" Poe asked wryly and then feels ashamed of himself. Rey grew up with so little, scavenging to survive… it's no wonder that she finds it difficult to let go of old ways.

Leia's not complaining. "Rey's repurposing of parts is saving us hundreds of thousands of credits," she informs Poe one day.

Poe stands and watches as Rey works on Snap's X-wing. She's concentrating hard, her face flushed and her hair coming out of its braid as she ponders the problem with the targeting computer. Despite the frown … she looks happy … content – as if she's finally found her place in the world. Poe smiles.

*

Poe does some foraging of his own, trading parts with an amused Goss Toowers much to the curiosity of Rey who peers wistfully at all of the parts that Poe is collecting. Poe enlists the help of Finn who keeps his secret and also helps to gather parts, bargaining in a spirited fashion with Goss and other people at the base. Poe can tell that the former stormtrooper enjoys the back and forth of bartering and bargaining.

"What have you both been making?" Rey asks finally when she can't restrain herself any longer.

Finn covers her eyes as Poe flings open the door of his former study. Rey's pile of scrap is still there but they've turned the study into a work room for her, complete with a work bench, tools and lights. 

"Are those the old lights from the hangar?" she asks in delight.

"Yes – and the bench is made from the old door to the parking bay," Finn tells her.

"And he used to be a stormtrooper," Poe tells her, pointing at Finn.

Finn grins. "And this guy used to be a lonely hotshot pilot, but he's been repurposed into our good friend."

Rey hugs them both. She's definitely got the better end of this deal.


	6. Coping (Rey, Finn, Poe, Jessika - friendship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by [this post](http://primarybufferpanel.tumblr.com/post/136602093154/star-wars-tfa-fic-prompt-rey-and-finn-learning) about coping mechanisms - except that I didn't have them go to Leia, I had them drag Jessika Pava into it instead.
> 
> Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

Finn discovers Rey's pile of rations first, carefully stockpiled away in the corner of her workroom. She eats the freshly prepared food with them in the mess hall every day. These are the rations that they're allocated for their away missions. Clearly, Rey's not been eating her full share and has been choosing to put aside some of her rations. She's got a bag of equipment and rations in her bag – clearly preparing for the day everything goes to hell and she needs to run.

At first, it bothers him a lot. Partly because it makes him sad that Rey's still frightened of being hungry again but partly because he flinches when he remembers how his instructors used to discipline the children who horded food from the mess halls during the early days of their training.

As children, even ones in training for military service, it had been natural to want to hide away food for eating later but the consequences had been swift and severe. Finn himself had always followed orders, eaten what he was given and had never attempted to hide away food, but other members of his cadre had not been so compliant.

He's not sure how to broach the subject with Rey so raises it with Poe first. The older man stares at the pile of food and runs a troubled hand through his dark hair, exhaling with a noisy sigh.

"Oh boy," he mutters. "I thought it was just the scrap parts …" Clearly it cuts much deeper than that and he thinks of the way Rey's eyes widened the first time he took her into the mess hall and showed her around.

"I can have as many portions as I want?" she had asked, voice full of disbelief and a little bit of wariness.

"Within reason – if you're too heavy, you won't be able to take off the ground," Poe had joked.

"Should we say anything?" Finn asks. "I don't want her to get into trouble for hording food?" Finn asks and the catch in his voice makes Poe's eyes darken.

"She won't get into trouble for that," he reassures Finn firmly. "That's not how it works here. Thing is, the food they give us for our missions is designed to be the optimum amount we need. If she's skimping on food so that she can save it, that's not a good thing."

"I get the impression she's used to being able to get by a long way on a whole lot of little."

"Yeah … I get that, too," Poe remarks.

"So – do you want to talk to her or do I?" Finn asks. 

"I think it would be bad coming from either of us," Poe replies. 

So they drag Jess into it. 

"What are you guys looking all mysterious about?" Jessika demands as they propel her into Rey's workroom when Rey's in training with Luke Skywalker and show her the bag with the parts and rations stored away.

Jess puts her hands on her slim hips and glares at them both, her dark eyes kindling. "Seriously – _this_ is why you drag me out of a game of space poker? Do you know how close I was to finally beating Nunb today? He's going to think I bailed because I was afraid of getting beaten again."

"You don't think we should say anything to her, Jess?" Poe asks, looking very puzzled.

"Shouldn't we do something about it?" Finn demands, looking equally confused.

Jess swings her head around to stare at them both, her pony tail swinging violently with the rapidity of the motion. "First, it's none of your business. Secondly, some of those rations are mine. I gave them to her."

Finn and Poe are equal measures of stunned but before they can speak, Jess continues. "She's not broken. There's nothing for you to fix. Just let her deal with things in her own way, ok? No one tells _you_ to stop sleeping with your blaster under your pillow." Finn flinches and avoids eye contact with both of them. "At least Rey's hoarding isn't going to get me almost shot, like the last time we were off-planet!"

"And _you_ , commander – we all pretend to look away when you pat Black One like she's your baby and recite that line from your mother's favourite poem before you take off." Poe flushes a little but says nothing. He regrets having come clean with Goss Toowers about his pre-flight ritual. Clearly the Shozer can't be trusted to keep his mouth shut.

"Man. Remind me never to rile you up again," Finn mutters beneath his breath.

"Oh you ain't seen nothing yet," Poe tells him in a low voice. Then he smiles. "And you, Jess – what about you? What's your coping mechanism?"

Jess grins and shrugs. "I got one, too – just like everyone. Clearly I'm just more observant than you. Now if you will excuse me, I've got a poker game to get back to."

"You know you're just going to lose …" Poe calls out to her retreating back.

"If you weren't my commanding officer …" she throws back over her shoulder as she leaves.

"Them's fighting words," he retorts.

*

At dinner that night, Rey glances around the table at Finn and Poe who are sitting, staring at her impassively. "What's up with these two?" she demands of Jess who shrugs and takes a bite out of her flatbread.

"They made me lose another power game against Nien Nunb and they're probably still sore at me for calling them on it."

"Jess – I don't think you're ever going to win a game against him …"

"You take that back!" Jess retorts with exaggerated indignation in her voice. There's genuine amusement in Rey's face and Finn and Poe grin and finally relax.


	7. Laundry (early Rey/Poe, Finn friendship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very loosely based on [this prompt](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/136852522168/imagine-your-otp-cleaning-the-house-on-a-saturday): _magine your OTP cleaning the house on a Saturday. Casual kisses, folding laundry, just being cute and domestic and such._
> 
> Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

"You know, back where I'm from, they have droids to do this kind of stuff," Finn tells them as he pulls his laundry out of the sonic washer, stuffing it all into his laundry bag with great energy.

"You also had oppression and brutality," Poe comments.

"There's that – thanks for reminding me," Finn retorts. "You two done yet?" he demands and Poe and Rey look at one another. They'd chosen to wash their laundry the more old-fashioned way, using water rather than the sonic washer.

"Not yet," Rey replies.

"I'll be a bit longer," Poe tells him.

"You know – the technology is here for a reason – you guys should use it," Finn tells them as he slings his laundry over one shoulder and goes back to his quarters.

"Next he's going to tell me to use the Force to do my laundry," Rey remarks to Poe who grins.

"You can do that?" he asks jokingly.

"I wish I could … and why are you here anyway?" she asks curiously, staring at him. As one of the senior officers, he could have delegated laundry duties to someone more junior.

He doesn't miss a beat with his response. "Gotta get the sheets laundered just right … and last time they over-starched my flight suit to the point I couldn't sit in it," he lies outrageously.

That makes her smile. She's knows Poe Dameron's reputation as an Ace pilot and she enjoys his company and conversation. He's also become a good friend to her and Finn – taken them under his wing and taken the time to show them how things are done in the Resistance. 

Thought older than her, he has a playful manner to him that Rey finds very pleasing and she is more than a little flattered than he appears to enjoy her company to the point of seeking her out. There are women at the base who are far more sophisticated and beautiful than Rey who still feels awkward and out of place.

Master Luke isn't much help as a mentor. He teaches her in the ways of the Force but the habits formed from years of being a reclusive hermit die hard and he'd rather stay in his room or go off into the hills on his own to meditate, leaving Rey to navigate her new life on her own.

As the machine beeps, he retrieves their laundry and puts it into the sonic dryer. They're not above using the more advanced technology for drying as neither has the inclination to wait for the clothes to be put through the manual dryer. 

He throws their clothes together and it seems awfully domestic, even intimate. The clothes and sheets are dry in an instant and she watches as he shows her how to press the bedding with regulation precision. "Where did you learn how to do that?" she asks curiously.

"As a lowly flight officer back at the Military Academy," he tells her with a smile, referring to the days when he served with the New Republic Starfleet. His gaze lingers on her flushed skin and the way the heat of the laundry room makes her dark hair curl around her face. She still styles her hair in three loose knobs rather than adopting braids or a ponytail like many of the other human women around the base. It's simple and lovely.

When their laundry is done, they walk back to their quarters together. His room is across the hall from hers and they pause in their respective doorways, laundry in their arms.

Poe's making up his bunk when there's a light tap on the door. "It's unlocked," he calls and the door slides open and Rey's standing there. "Yes?" he asks her, trying not to let a smile creep onto his face.

"Your flight vest ended up in my laundry pile … somehow …" she remarks, looking a little perplexed.

"Thanks for bringing it back."

She steps in and the door slides shut behind her. He raises an eyebrow at her quizzically. "Can I help you, Rey?" he asks her, taking a step towards her. She flushes slightly.

The vest drops unheeded onto the floor as his arms slide around her and his mouth comes down onto hers slowly.

"Is this ok?" he asks her hoarsely as his mouth brushes against hers. She nods wordlessly and tightens her arms around his neck.

Doing laundry has never been so much fun …


	8. Jacket (Rey/Poe, early stages of relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe's never getting his jacket back ...
> 
> Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

Rey stood waiting in the doorway, shivering slightly, hands plunged deep in the pockets of her jacket as she waited. She watched as the X-wing squadrons landed on the tarmac one after the other, counting down each in silently to make sure that everyone had returned safely.

She already knew that the distinctive black and orange x-wing would be one of the first to land. She almost certainly would have known if it had vanished from existence … there would have been a tug at her throat and a tight pain in her chest if Black One and its pilot had been destroyed.

"Your attachment for Poe Dameron could be your downfall," Luke Skywalker had commented quietly one day, putting words to something that until then had only been a feeling.

"What of my friendship with Finn?" she asked him, not attempting to deny his observation.

"That could also weaken you …"

"I grew up too long without any attachments or love, Master Luke," Rey told him calmly. 

"It made you self-reliant ... independent and strong."

"I didn't feel any stronger – just more alone. I think love makes us stronger – gives us purpose."

Luke had smiled, not unhappy with the conversation. Rey was no naïve, untested wide-eyed padawan and he happened to agree with her assessment. The old views of the Jedi in relation to attachment and relationships had been misplaced and possibly led to their own downfall.

"Perhaps you should tell him then," Luke had told her with a gentle smile. 

"I shouldn't have to," Rey had replied.

She watched now as Poe leapt lightly down from his x-wing, as he removed his helmet. She smiled. His black curls were always extra tousled after confinement beneath the flight helmet and he did a walk around Black One with Goss Toors before jogging to the showers with the rest of the squadron.

After showers, they'd have a debrief. Rey was still waiting when Poe emerged from the post-mission debrief. He glanced her way and a smile immediately leapt into his eyes upon catching sight of her, standing in a doorway at the top of the stairs that had been carved out of the mountain itself.

He jogged lightly up the roughly hewn stone stairs towards her.

"So – that's my jacket," he pointed out, a broad grin on his face.

"I know."

"You stole it from Finn?" he asked.

"He said it looked better on me."

"And it does," he ageed.

"Guess I'm not getting it back?" he asked her, coming up to stand on one step below her, such that he had to tilt his head back slightly to look at her.

She liked the laugh in his eyes, the careless ease of his smile and laugh. She liked his kindness and patience and the way he did not hesitate to help others. He could be reckless, but never with the welfare of others – only his own and there was a gentleness about him even though he was a fighter who had been trained to kill. Like Finn, he reminded her that even in the midst of a war, one could find humanity and that even a soldier did not have to be without mercy.

"You waiting for your next go in an X-wing? I can ask the ground crew to prep one of the ships for us …" he asked, referring to her X-wing training. She had passed all her sim flights with flying colours and had moved on to flying an actual starship in a matter of days.

"No, I was waiting for you," she replied.

"Oh …"

"I always wait for you to come back from your missions," she revealed unexpectedly.

She'd never seen Poe Dameron at a loss for words before. He was usually loquacious, full of quips, quick rejoinders and one-liners.

"Not really used to anyone waiting for me," he admitted, testing the thought for a moment. He'd manage to navigate his life without entanglement. All of his prior romantic encounters had been mutually satisfying but free of emotional commitment. 

With the sunlight shining on her face, Rey's usually brown eyes were a deep, translucent olive and they were very steady and calm. 

"So – do we keep standing out here?" he asked her with a smile on his face.

She raised her hand and touched it to his black hair. His curls were still damp from his shower and he smelled of standard issue soap and shampoo.

"You know it's safer not to get attached to a starship pilot," he told her with a crooked smile, an uncharacteristic sadness shadowing his eyes.

"Safer for who?"

"Safer for everyone … we tend to die. In a spectacular explosion - but alone and abruptly." His words were harsh and blunt.

"You're talking to someone who grew up having no one," she told him, lowering her head to his and brushing her lips across his briefly.

"Well that's not the case anymore," he corrected her. "You've got Finn … Luke Skywalker … the General cares about you … "

"And?" she asked him, resting her fingertips on his tanned cheek. Sunlight made her skin freckle and made his olive skin become even more tanned.

He swallowed hard and replied with an effort. "And Chewbacca…"

"And?"

"BB-8. My droid thinks you're fantastic," he replied. Her lips were warm and soft, clinging to his and he closed his eyes, lips parting as he resisted the urge to pull her closer to him.

"It's ok, Poe," she told him.

"What's ok?" he demanded tersely, his body tight and tense enough to snap.

"I know how you feel about me …" She grinned wryly. "I also know I'm a terrible kisser."

"I hate the Force sometimes," he muttered "And you're not a terrible kisser … just …"

"Show me how to do it properly then."

Poe was a strong man but not that strong. He gave up fighting, his hands coming up to grip her face firmly as he showed her how to kiss him properly, teasing her lips and tongue with his own tongue, exploring her mouth with slow and intimate tenderness until they were both shaking uncontrollably.

"Get a room," "Snap" Wexley exclaimed as he and Jess Pava ran past them on the stairs. 

"It's about time," Jess called out before she and Snap walked inside the base.

Poe ignored them and his hands slid beneath his jacket to pull Rey closer to him, kissing her again, this time with more urgency. She was a quick learner and her mouth opened beneath his as she showed him what she'd learned. In seconds, she almost had him in on his knees before her and he broke away with a shaking laugh.

"Jedi mind tricks?" he teased her, looping his arm through hers and walking with her inside.

"Master Luke does say that the Force has a powerful effect on the weak-minded," she jibed and then gave a shriek of laughing protest as he scooped her up into his arms and jogged with her through the halls of the base in the direction of his sleeping quarters. 

"I'll show you who's weak-minded," he retorts.


	9. Bath time (Poe/Rey, established relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **In response to this prompt:** Imagine your OTP taking a bath together. No sex or friskiness, just having conversations while washing the others hair/back and enjoying the warm water.
> 
> *
> 
> Nothing very exciting - just a glimpse into - bath time :) Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

The hot steam rose from the deep sunken bath and Rey closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the fragrant scent of the bathing salts. She could feel the stiffness of her muscles lessen although she had no doubt that if she looked at her arms and calves, she would find bruises blossoming in dramatic profusion across her skin. 

She had thought she was an expert with her staff but Master Luke was proving her wrong. She had been knocked off her feet more times than she cared to recall. 

The door slid open and Poe walked in, lines of exhaustion on his face after a long patrol with his squadrons. His expression lightened when he saw her lying in the large tub, her breasts barely concealed by the water, modesty protected by the dim, flickering lights of the candles she had lit.

Clearly there were times when a sonic shower was just no replacement for a proper bath with water in it even though a sonic shower was certainly a lot faster.

"That looks very comfortable," he remarked. "OK if I hop in, too?" he asked her teasingly.

"There's room for the both of us," she told him unexpectedly.

Within seconds he had discarded his flight suit and the remainder of his clothing and before her admiring gaze, he stepped into the bath with a sigh of deep satisfaction.

He leaned back against the side of the bath tub and like her, closed his eyes. Rey studied Poe Dameron's face narrowly. His thick black lashes rested against his tanned skin and his hair was starting to curl in an unruly fashion from the heat and the steam from the water. 

"Rough night?" she asked him and he nodded. "Ran into a squadron of TIE-fighters … we managed to jam their comms and … deal with them before they could report on our location …"

This had involved luring the TIE-fighters a safe distance from the base to avoid the First Order being able to pinpoint the base location based on the TIE-fighters last known position. Once lured away – the fighting had begun in earnest. Poe had killed a lot of people in his life and it never felt good, but these days it felt worse … while many of the stormtroopers were zealots, he could only assume that there were many like Finn who had been forced into service and fought for a cause in which they didn't believe. It had been better when he hadn't known and could close his eyes and pretend that they were one homogeneous -or at least faceless - beast.

"Everyone safe?"

He nodded. "A few close calls but we're all back." She looked relieved.

"How was your night?" he asked her and she sighed.

"I don't think I'm ever going to defeat Master Luke in combat … and he's not going to teach me how to use a lightsabre until I can beat him with an ordinary weapon …"

"Come over here and I'll wash your back," he suggested with a wicked grin and she smiled and moved over to his side of the tub. His arms went about her for a moment and she lay back against him, eyes closed as he slid a kiss to the side of her. A smile curved his mouth at the sound of satisfaction that escaped her throat.

He reached for a wash cloth and began soaping her slender back. His eyes darkened at the sight of the bruises on her arms and legs and his hands were extra gentle as he slid the cloth down her body.

Amidst giggles she returned the favour. When they were both finally clean and relaxed, they stepped out of the bath and towelled down with the deep green military issue towels that were utilitarian rather than comfortable.

"That looks a bit familiar," he remarked, looking at the nightshirt she had selected that looked suspiciously like one of the undershirts he would typically wear beneath his flight suit. "I wondered where that had gone …"

Rey's smile became a sleepy yawn and they jostled in a friendly fashion at the sink as they brushed their teeth and prepared for bed.

They collapsed in an exhausted heap into the bunk.

"Isn't it your turn to turn the light off?" she asked him sleepily.

"Can't you use the Force?" he joked and then groaned as he slid back out to switch of the light before getting back into the bunk with her.

They were both too tired to even think of anything other than sleeping and Poe grinned when after kissing him, Rey proceeded to fall asleep almost immediately.

Despite the difficulties of tonight's patrol, when he fell asleep, he was conscious of the a feeling of quiet contentment – and happiness.


	10. Sleeping (Rey & Poe, non-shippy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe are on a scouting mission on an ice planet and have to share a room. Non-shippy. Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.
> 
> *
> 
> I was using a few of the prompts from [this prompt post](http://koalathebear.tumblr.com/post/137532629386/i-know-this-isnt-how-prompts-work-but-because-i) about sharing a room:  
> \- I didn’t realise we’d have to share, so I didn’t bring anything to sleep in.  
> \- Do you have a problem sharing with me?  
> \- Move over, there’s no room.  
> \- Stop snoring!  
> \- Did you hear that?  
> \- Sorry, I didn’t mean to … snuggle.  
> \- I like to sleep on the left side of the bed.

"I didn’t realise we’d have to share, so I didn’t bring anything to sleep in," Rey remarks uncertainly, staring at the narrow bunk in the room that is as ice cold as it is unwelcoming. Her large dark eyes meet his and he smiles ruefully.

Rey had begged to join Poe on his scouting mission to help identify a planet for the new Resistance base. In hindsight, she probably should have just gone with Finn and Admiral Ackbar to Coruscant but Rey had already decided that diplomacy was not for her and she really didn't care for large formal gatherings and meetings. Finn, in contrast had discovered that he had a real knack for persuasion and both General Leia and Admiral Ackbar had pounced on this talent with glee. They needed all the envoys and emissaries that they could get and Poe Dameron had already made it quite clear in the past that he'd rather be torn limb from limb than asked to front up to a sub-committee of the New Republic Senate – even though these days such meetings were much smaller and more informal than they had been prior to the tragic destruction of the Hosnian System.

"I'm a pilot, General – I ain't no damned politician," Poe had declared fervently in the past when attempts had been made to make him attend Senate deliberations. 

So here they are on an ice planet that no one has ever bothered to name … probably because it's so goddamned cold and inhospitable that no one wants to live there. 

There was a second bunk in the shuttle but it was in the other sleeping quarters which are not coping with the cold at all. The water pipes in that room had exploded earlier in the evening, covering everything with water which had then frozen and were now thawing out – leaving the room uninhabitable.

"Look, you sleep on the bunk," Poe offers. "I'll sleep out on the floor." The prospect isn't very inviting. The floor is freezing cold. His quarters are the warmest area in the entire shuttle but that isn't saying much given that he can see Rey's lips turning blue as they debate sleeping arrangements. "I've got a jacket you can borrow."

"Let's not recommend this planet for the new base," she tells him, pulling her jacket around her narrow shoulders more tightly, teeth chattering noisily.

It's even colder outside. Poe had thought Hoth was bad but this ice planet was even worse - if that's possible. It's no wonder the First Order have never been spotted in this system, their navigation instruments and engines would probably have frozen - the same way Poe's shuttle has done.

"No argument from me there," he replies. There's no chance of leaving the planet tonight. Everything is frozen over. They are counting on the fact that during daylight, they will have a better chance at thawing everything out and taking off. At present, almost nothing's working except the back-up power system in Poe's sleeping quarters. Even the comlink is barely working but he still has hopes that he can get things working again when the planet's sun rises the next day for its brief appearance.

"Do you have a problem sharing with me?" he asks Rey abruptly, gesturing at the bunk.

Rey exhales. "The room's freezing. Anyone sleeping on the floor is going to freeze to death. We should both share the bunk," she points out pragmatically.

They get ready for bed. The pipes in the Refresher are frozen and it takes all of their ingenuity to melt enough ice and snow to allow them to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Rey pulls on several pairs of socks and several layers of clothing until she is almost roly poly in shape. Last of all, she pulls on a hat and gloves and tries to clamber up into the bunk with great difficulty.

Poe's lips twitch. "Which side of the bed do you want?" he asks her jokingly as he climbs in beside her.

"I like to sleep on the left side of the bed," she announces, clothing layers so thick she can barely move.

"Move over, there’s no room," he tells her and then pulls the blanket over the top of them both.

Poe turns out the light and they both lie in the darkness, the coldness of the air making it almost painful to breathe so he tugs the blankets over their heads and moves closer to her. All he can feel is layers of clothing.

For Rey, it's very awkward. Her dealings with Poe have been entirely professional … training in Resistance flight procedures and protocols. Repairs on Black One. Consulting with him in relation to improvements on the Millennium Falcon. He's always been friendly and informal with her and he hadn't appeared unhappy when she had asked to accompany him on the scouting mission, acknowledging that her skills would be handy for the mission … but none of their previous dealings have prepared her for the reality of lying in bed next to the squadron commander who she has come to rather idolise.

She rolls towards him and almost causes him to fall out of the bunk. "Sorry," she mutters apologetically as she rolls on her side to make more room for him and inadvertently buries her face in his neck. Her nose is like a block of ice and he tells her so.

*

In the middle of the night, Rey wakes up with a jolt and stares around in the darkness a little wildly. Poe's sleeping soundly beside her, snoring quietly.

"Poe! Poe! Wake up! Stop snoring!" she tells him in a piercing whisper.

His eyes snap open. "What is it?" he demands groggily.

"Did you hear that?" she asks him and he listens to the howling sounds screaming through the air outside. The winds are fierce and buffeting the shuttle from side to side.

"Just snow monsters," he tells her sleepily. "No need to worry about them."

"Not funny," she retorts. "And why don't I need to worry?"

"So cold out there, they'll freeze to death before they can eat us," he tells her mildly. At her affronted sniff, he laughs. "Go to sleep Rey, it's just the wind blowing frozen debris against he shuttle. "We're safe in here."

She exhales slowly, aware that she's somehow managed to cuddle up against him as they've been sleeping.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to … snuggle…" she mumbles, trying to get comfortable.

"No problem," he tells her.

"I might need a story to fall asleep," getting closer to him as the sounds outside the shuttle intensify.

So Poe tells her a story his mother told him as a child, when he demanded to hear tales of the heroes of the Rebellion. He tells her of how Han Solo risked his own life to brave the cold of Hoth to rescue Luke Skywalker who had been attacked by a fearsome wampa and on the brink of death.

"He cut open a tauntaun?" Rey demands, eyes wide. "With a lightsabre!?"

"And put Luke Skywalker inside its guts to keep his friend warm."

She gives a sleepy yawn and snuggles up against him trustfully. "You're better than a tauntaun," she mumbles drowsily.

"I’m flattered," he replies in amusement. "Now go to sleep before all the compliments go to my head," he tells her.

Poe Dameron smiles to himself before he allows sleep to overtake him. He's never been compared to a tauntaun before.


	11. Sleep and Nightmares (Rey/Poe, shippy, mildly sexy times) (mature)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe sharing a room - and a bed. Established relationship. Mildly sexy times - please don't read if you're not of age or if this sort of thing offends you :)
> 
> *
> 
> I was using a few of the prompts from [this prompt post](http://koalathebear.tumblr.com/post/137532629386/i-know-this-isnt-how-prompts-work-but-because-i) about sharing a room:  
> \- You talk in your sleep, you know…  
> \- Your feet are freezing.  
> \- Ow! You just kicked me!  
> \- Do you mind if I move a bit closer? I’m so cold.  
> \- Not exactly the most comfortable but it’ll do.  
> \- It’s too hot to sleep.  
> \- I’m not tired yet.

"You talk in your sleep, you know…" Poe remarks softly as he turns on his side to look into Rey's drowsy face. 

She flushes. "What do I say?" she wants to know.

"Oh the usual … you tell me how you really feel about me … about how great I am ." Poe teases her with a gentle smile on his face and then laughs when Rey gives him a joking kick in the shins beneath the blanket.

"Ow! You just kicked me!" he complains exaggeratedly. "And worse - your feet are freezing!" 

"Sorry, it's a cold night." She shivers a little. "Do you mind if I move a bit closer? I’m so cold," she tells him and he shakes his head in amusement. 

"It's really not _that_ cold." It's not the first time he's been amused by her sensitivity to cold weather. She's tough as nails, relentless and indomitable in a fight, but as soon as the temperature goes south a little, she's shivering uncontrollably. Finn and Poe tease her about it all the time.

"It is for me," she retorts and he doesn't complain when she plasters herself all over him.

"You know it's not going to be possible to sleep like this," he remarks, even as his hand smooths over her back caressingly and he turns his head to brush a kiss to her cheek.

"Not exactly the most comfortable but it’ll do," she mumbles as she presses her face into the side of his neck and breathes deeply of his clean, masculine scent. She can hear the steady thud of his heartbeat and all the tension drains out of her as his hand slides down her back to rest lightly on her body.

"That's my butt," she points out.

"I noticed," he remarks with a grin. With her t-shirt riding high, the only thing between his hand and her skin is the thin cotton of her underwear.

"How come you're not asleep?" she asks him.

"It’s too hot to sleep … and I’m not tired yet," he tells her. He's always a bit on edge and buzzy after getting back from a mission. It takes him time to get back to normal even after a routine patrol and tonight Rey's sleep was particularly restless, making it even harder for him to sleep. 

He pulls her closer and she gives a muffled whimper of pleasure as his clever hands start to wander and slide between her thighs.

In seconds, they are both panting uncontrollably and she's pushing the blanket off them both, kicking off her cotton underwear impatiently and clambering on top of him boldly. He grins wolfishly as she straddles him and sinks down onto him with a moan of satisfaction. Rey doesn't have a favourite position, she loves them all and this one is no exception. She doesn't care when Poe's hands tighten almost painfully on her hips and pull her down onto his hardness, guiding her and thrusting up deep inside of her.

Her hair falls in a curtain about her flushed face as she controls the pace. Her whimpers increase in volume as she shudders uncontrollably. His hand seeks out the swollen and sensitive flesh between her thighs, seeing to her noisy and satisfying climax before he lets himself fall over the edge into his own release.

They disengage with breathless giggles, trying not to make a mess as they tumble out of the bunk and dash off to the Refresher in his room to clean up. They drop back into his bunk bonelessly and Rey's body relaxes and she lies beside him, calm and quiet. Poe presses a kiss to her forehead, the smile fading from his face. His eyes that are suddenly very dark and serious.

They both know that she hasn't been babbling endearments in her sleep. She's been screaming out in her nightmares, sometimes so loudly that her throat is hoarse and sore when she wakes up. More than once, she's woken from her dreams, tears pouring down her face. The nightmares are lessening in intensity and frequency but they still visit her … 

He's had his own nightmares. He can still feel the iciness of Kylo Ren's intrusion into his thoughts. The only thing that has made the nightmares stop is that Luke Skywalker has taught him how to fight of future attacks on his willpower. While he once shrugged off and laughed at suggestions that he might be Force-sensitive, he now embraces it – grateful that this flicker of power may be what will protect him from Jedi mind tricks …

Sometimes he can actually see her nightmares and feel the desperate loneliness of an abandoned child with such acuteness that it almost makes him weep for her. Rey is so brave, determined and fearless that the glimpses of that lonely little girl are even more heartbreaking in their intensity.

"Sleep - you're safe now," Poe promises Rey, his lips brushing across her cheek and she curls towards him trustfully as she smiles at him drowsily. He lies there, watching over her … seeing her sink from light slumber into a deeper sleep. 

"You're not alone anymore … " he tells her with a crooked smile.

Only when she's snoring quietly beside him does Poe allow himself to close his eyes. 

Rey's always looked after herself and she doesn't need anyone to protect her … Poe's always been alone by choice, welcoming romantic encounters but avoiding emotional entanglements - until now. It doesn't get any more entangled than this. If anyone needs protecting, it's probably him – from himself. His smile twists into a rueful smile as he drifts off to sleep. Who's he kidding? It's already too late.


	12. No Immunity (Rey/Poe, early stages of relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt from daylightspeaks:** “You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”
> 
> *
> 
> Set some time after The Force Awakens but pre-Rey/Poe ship :) Written before The Last Jedi came out.

"What happened?" Rey looks around wildly, confused and more than a little frightened. Her panic increases when she realises that she's in the medical centre and she's strapped to the bed.

"You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes," Poe tells her jokingly with a teasing wink. While she knows the squadron commander by name and they've spoken on a couple of occasions, to learn that she appears to have fainted into the arms of a near stranger is mortifying. 

"What is it?" Rey demands, staring back and forth between Finn and Poe who are sitting at her bedside. That's when she realises that she's in the isolation room.

"What's happened?" she demands, panic rising up inside of her. Breathing becomes difficult and she goes rigid for a moment.

"Rey, we need you to stay calm," Dr Kalonia says sternly. The doctor is wearing a biohazard suit and peering through a clear visor at Rey's face.

"Please tell me why I'm in here," Rey pleads with them and the two men glance at one another. 

"You want to tell her or me?" Poe asks Finn who shrugs and then gives a rather wild-eyed look at the doctor.

"Rey - you've been infected by a virus … a highly infectious virus." the doctor informs her. "We're trying to synthesise a cure for you."

"What are you two doing in here then?" Rey demands almost hysterically.

"New Republic children are vaccinated against it at birth and I got a booster when I joined the Resistance," Poe explains.

" Stormtroopers are vaccinated against it, too. It was actually the Empire who accidentally created it in the first place," Finn tells her, looking apologetic despite himself. "So Poe and me are both immune."

"Resistant not immune," Dr Kalonia corrects him sharply,"And you could both still get re-infected so you shouldn't even be in here."

"She's going to be fine though isn't she doc?" Poe asks. To him, Forest Fever was something that no one ever died of anymore…

"We've all been vaccinated but Rey grew up on Jakku. Not only has she not been vaccinated but she has no resistance at all based on the blood tests we've run," the doctor tells them gravely. "But we're doing what we can. The most important thing you can do is keep her calm." She doesn’t go on to add that because of the extensive vaccination programme, they don't have the cure in their medical supplies and it's not that easy to synthesise.

"How did I even get it?" Rey wants to know.

"When you went looking through the remains of that old Rebel base with us," Poe tells her gently. "The Empire tried to use the virus to wipe out that base. Turns out that while it didn't work on the Rebels – the virus doesn't die but lies dormant …"

Rey closes her eyes, unable to believe her bad luck.

"Is everyone else safe?" she demands, thinking of everyone she's been in contact with.

"We're all fine," Finn assures her. 

"How long's it going to take to make the cure?" Rey asks miserably. 

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Dr Kalonia tells her apologetically.

"I'm sorry you're trapped in here with me," she tells both Finn and Poe. All three have tasks and missions that are going to be affected because they're trapped in the isolation room with her.

"Cheer up – I guess we're all going to get to know each other a hell of a lot better," Poe comforts her with a smile in his dark eyes.

Rey smiles despite herself. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that the Resistance pilot was flirting with her. 

Forest Fever isn't the only thing to which she has no resistance, she's clearly completely vulnerable to Poe Dameron's charm as well …


	13. Triple Bed (Finn/Rey/Poe, shippy, het)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An OT3 seems great in theory but the practicalities can be a little comical … Sexy times - please don't read if you're not of age or if this sort of thing offends you :) Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.
> 
> *
> 
> I was using a few of the prompts from [this prompt post](http://koalathebear.tumblr.com/post/137532629386/i-know-this-isnt-how-prompts-work-but-because-i) about sharing a room:  
> \- You’re not a morning person, are you?  
> \- Well, at least one of us managed to sleep.  
> \- Were you…watching me sleep?  
> \- Oh, you’re awake?!  
> \- There’s only one bed?!  
> \- Just keep your hands to yourself.  
> \- Could you just…hold me?

"There’s only one bed?!" Rey exclaims as she studies the bunk.

"Well there's only ever supposed to be one scientist at a time manning this station," Poe points out. "Good thing we brought our own food … there's barely anything in the store-room and BB-8 says that the planets around the station are toxic."

"I can sleep on the floor," Finn offers.

"I could sleep on the shuttle," Poe also offers.

"Don't be silly, we'll all fit," Rey insists. "It's actually quite a large bed."

"Not if you and hot shot pilot boy over there start getting frisky in the middle of the night."

"You're just mad that she picked me instead of you last night, Buckethead," Poe jokes provocatively.

"Keep riling Finn up like that and you're the one who's going to be sleeping on the floor," she tells him.

Both men laugh and Finn reaches down and presses a kiss to the side of her throat. "We can make it work. But just keep your hands to yourself, man," he tells Poe even as his hand moves to cup Rey's breast.

"Well one advantage to these sleeping arrangements – Rey doesn't have to pick just one of us tonight."

"She could have us both," Finn agrees.

"At once," Poe added and laughed at the startled but fascinated expressions on Finn and Rey's faces.

*

"Oh, you’re awake?! Finally!" Poe remarks the next morning when an extremely exhausted and sated Rey shifts slightly from where she's lying – which is sandwiched quite securely between her two lovers. Their clothes are scattered around the floor of the small sleeping chamber and the room is musky with the smell of sex.

"Were you…watching me sleep?" she demands and he grins and kisses her on the nose.

"I think you enjoyed last night a lot, sweetheart," he tells her, running his hand along her bare hip. She shivers in remembered pleasure. 

"Well, at least one of us managed to sleep," Poe says loudly and Finn finally wakes up, blinking at them both groggily, his limbs tangled with theirs.

"You're a very noisy woman during sex," Finn tells Rey sleepily. Rey blushes scarlet.

"You’re not a morning person, are you?" Poe points out in amusement and Finn wakes himself up with an effort, grinning as he remembers the rather rigorous and pleasurable activities of the night. 

"Hey I'm not complaining," he protests and kisses the back of Rey's neck.

"Stop teasing me. Could you just…hold me?" she asks plaintively.

"Which one of us?" Poe asks her in amusement.

"Both of you."


	14. Patrol (Rey/Poe, established relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a plotless scribble that hopped into my head. I liked the idea of Poe having someone to come back to at last. Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

“All fighters cleared for takeoff.”

“Go, blue team. Go, red team,” the controller added.

The Resistance fighters had been standing by and waiting for the order to depart and were away in an instant. Droids calculated and recalculated approach patterns to their destination.

In the lead was the X-wing marked with distinctive black patterning. Poe was focused on the instrumentation in the cockpit while BB-8 attended to mechanical matters. Behind them, the surface of the planet fell away rapidly.

“All teams, this is Black Leader,” Poe said to the cockpit’s omnipickup, “altitude confirmed. Distance confirmed. Arrival coordinates confirmed.” He activated several controls, and the X-wing’s hyperspace propulsion system prepared to distort space and time. “Hold for jump to lightspeed on my go!”

When he had satisfied himself that everyone was ready, he gave the signal. In an almost mesmerising blur, one fighter after another vanished from the sky in a streak of light.

“Black Leader,” an officer stationed at a console declared to the pickup that would send out the command via the identical set of relays, “go to sublight. Deploy X-wings on your call.”

“Roger, base.” Hitting the controls necessary to alter course within a lightspeed run, Poe addressed the rest of his flight. “Red squad, blue squad—follow my lead.” At his touch, their revised vector entered the flight computer of every ship in every squadron, and the X-wings promptly adjusted as a single unit.

“Copy, Black Leader."

*

Wincing slightly as returned from the forest clearing where she had been training with Luke Skywalker, Rey walked into the command centre and looked around. It was late and as was customary by that time of night, only a skeleton crew were manning the consoles around the room.

"Are they all back from the patrol yet?" she asked Lieutenant Hannicks, a serious-dark haired officer, referring to the two squadrons flying a tactical pattern around the system, scanning for any potential threats to the base.

"Everyone's returned except Commander Dameron," he replied. "He decided to continue his patrol a little longer."

"No issues?" Rey asked in concern and Hannicks shook his head. 

"No ma'am. It went well – no sign of the First Order in any of the patrol zones."

Rey sat down at her favourite console and Hannicks nodded at her with a smile on his usually serious face and she picked up her headset and activated the comlink.

Surrounded by the blackness of the heavens, Poe smiled in the cockpit of his X-wing when he heard a familiar voice over the comlink. "Black Leader, isn't it time you returned to base? I hear everyone else is back already." 

"Just doing a final sweep," he replied briefly. He studied his scanners and glanced around the outside of his X-wing.

"Why?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Thought I saw something – it ended up being nothing but better safe than sorry."

"You know I worry when you don’t come back with the others …" she said in a low voice. As usual, Hannicks and others pretended not to be listening in on the conversation and glanced away into the distance.

"Don't. I'm an old hand at this," he reassured her. It was strange to have someone waiting for him and worrying about him when he was out on flight missions. It wasn't something he was used to … it was almost unsettling, reminding him of his childhood and his parents – heroic but always absent.

"I wish I could go on patrol, too …" Rey's voice was very wistful.

"That's the General's call not mine."

"But she'd listen to you if you asked her," Rey pointed out.

Probably true but Poe wasn't going to push the issue. There were compelling reasons why it was more important for Rey to become more proficient in the Force. Kylo Ren and Snoke were looking for her and she had to know how to defend herself. The Galaxy was vast – but not vast enough.

He gave a soft sigh that was barely audible over the comlink. "This is Black Leader. Coast is clear."

"Copy that Black Leader, please return to base," Hannicks instructed him.

"Roger base," he acknowledged formally but then his tone changed. "What did you learn today during training."

"More running … more obstacle courses … I'm covered in scratches and bruises …"

"Want a massage when I get back?" he offered.

She let out a groan of pleasure as she thought of strong and almost magical hands. Poe's body tightened in an immediate reaction to the sound that managed to be sensual even though it was conveyed across light years and being overheard by the others in the command centre. "Absolutely … otherwise I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow …"

"It's late, you should go to bed - don't wait up for me..." he told her gently.

He smiled when she ignored him. The others in the room knew the drill and had long perfected the art of acting as though they were not listening intently. Rey leaned forward, her voice dropping to a low and intimate whisper as he flew back to the base and back to her. It was a known fact around the base that Commander Dameron had fallen at last and that he had fallen hard. There were those who sighed in disappointment and regarded the pair with wistful eyes but everyone else was happy to see two people able to snatch happiness in what was an increasingly precarious world.

As he listened to her voice speaking to him through the darkness, warm and quiet, Poe decided that perhaps he could get used to having Rey's voice guiding him back home …


	15. Sparring (Rey/Poe, early stages of relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is all faithharkness' fault. She started it all with the whole fighting as flirtation and foreplay thing ...Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

"We've got a score to settle, you and I," Poe says with a wolfish grin as Rey attempts to sweep his feet out from under him. She fails.

"Not so easy is it when you don’t have your staff on you," he taunts her with a huge, provocative grin on his face.

"Oh man, this is going to end so badly," Finn cringes from the sidelines. "Poe – stop poking the beast. Tag me in, tag me in before you get yourself killed."

"No, I’m not done yet," Poe retorts.

"Yeah, let him suffer a bit longer," Jess remarks, rocking back on the heels of her feet, a very entertained expression on her pretty face.

"Anyone ever tell you that you’re a little bit evil?" Finn asks her.

"All the time, all the time," she replies. "And not it's not just a little bit ..."

"You've already stolen my favourite socks … " Poe tells Rey as his arms snap out with lightning speed, his shoulder turning as he throws her down to the mat with a swift thud.

"I was cold," Rey protests, leaping to her feet easily and circling around the dark-haired pilot warily.

"You've stolen my jacket …" Poe continues.

"Finn said I could have it," Rey counters as her leg flies out and she uses the flat of her foot to send Poe flying across the mat. She staggers back slightly but manages to stay on her feet.

"Hey don’t drag me into this unless you’re going to tag me in," Finn tells her with a grin. "And that kick was a bit sloppy – you need to make sure you keep more balance before you kick. What’s the point in me teaching you hand to hand combat if you don’t listen to me?"

"He’s on the mat and far away from me, I consider that a win, sloppiness aside."

"It was just to make you over-confident, I actually took a dive," Poe claims as he sends out a half-hearted punch she blocks easily.

"What the hell was that supposed to be, commander?" Jess exclaims in disgust. "Thatta girl!" she mutters when Rey’s fist shoots out and Poe bites back a curse as he barely manages to block the assault.

"And now you've gone and stolen my droid!" Poe exclaims, amusement on his face. The little astromech droid beeps and boops at him as it circles the mat where the two of them are sparring. He blocks another punch with a faint wince. "Not too shabby," he compliments her moves and she inclines her head graciously. "BB-8 follows you everywhere, sleeps in your quarters – in fact the only time he lowers himself to spend any time with me is when I've got a mission!"

"It's not my fault we've bonded," she protests as she seizes his arm, falls and attempts to pin him to the mat with her elbow in the small of his back.

Poe pretends to yield for a second but then he gives a sudden twist and rolls, flipping Rey so that she’s the one who ends up on the mat beneath him as he holds her face-down with her nose in the chalk and dust of the training hall. 

"I ask you - where's the loyalty?" Poe demands with exaggerated bitterness, staring at his friend who gives a low and apologetic beep. "Don't try to and appease me, buddy. I'm wounded. We've been together since we flew for the New Republic in Rapier Squadron – and then when I joined the Resistance – and now you've abandoned me for a prettier face!"

Rey takes advantage of Poe’s momentary distraction to extricate herself from the arm-lock and darts out of his attack range so that she can regroup.

"Are you two going to just keep dancing with one another or are we going to end this?" Jess demands. "Tag me in, Rey," she insists.

"Not yet – l'm not done beating him," Rey calls over her shoulder carelessly.

"Watch it - cockiness is a sure path to the Dark Side," Poe jibes.

"Look who’s talking," is her immediate comeback.

"Now, about my stolen droid," he reminds her with a broad grin that crinkles the corner of his eyes. His careless smile is filled with a certain swash-buckling glamour that seems to appeal to many women – and men for that matter. Rey pretends to be immune but she's anything but. She'd rather die than ever let him know that, though.

"This match then … winner takes it all," Rey suggests.

" _All?_ " Poe asks meaningfully, his eyes gleaming with innuendo.

"In your dreams flyboy," she retorts and Jess groans as Finn makes gagging noises.

"Seriously? Are you going fight or keep flirting?" she demands.

"Well there is something I want … a lot…" Rey tells him as she charges forward in an attempt to barrel him over but he dances out of her reach easily.

Poe’s eyes widen and his body tightens in anticipation. It motivates him to drop his light-hearted, playful attitude and start sparring in earnest. In seconds, he has her pinned to the floor again and his mouth is just inches from hers.

"So tell me. What is it that you want?" he asks her hoarsely. "Is it the same thing I want?"

She meets his gaze squarely, pupils dilated in involuntary arousal as her breath catches in her throat. His body is hard pressing her into the ground as she can feel her heart thudding against his chest. She smiles deliberately. "So - does Black One belong to you or the Resistance?" she asks incorrigibly, making Finn and Jess laugh.

"Crash and burn, she's after your X-wing not your hot body, commander," Jess crows.

The laughter vanishes from Poe’s eyes as he stares down at the young woman lying beneath him on the mat.

He can feel her racing pulse, see the attraction in her wide eyes, the flush of anticipation on her pale skin but he starts to wonder who the victor really is. The young scavenger from Jakku hasn’t just ended up with Poe Dameron’s socks, jacket and droid – somewhere along the way she seems to have stolen a few other things from him as well ...


	16. Hologram (Rey/Poe, established relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BB-8 (who holds many of Poe's secrets), breaches his confidence – but for a good cause. As usual, this ficlet is plotless. I just wanted to explore this situation a bit further. Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing that the upcoming Poe Dameron comic and log book will blow this out of the water with canon, but this is just my take on how things might have been. I have no idea what Shara Bey died of and how Kes Dameron died - as I assume he's also dead.

"Where's Commander Dameron?" the General demanded as she came striding through the doors of the ready room, looking around in a puzzled manner.

Nien Nunb looked up at her. _Anniversary._

Leia stiffened and her face clouded over. "Oh … " She winced. "I am not sure how I forgot that … definitely not a good time … I'll try talking with him tomorrow."

"Might be for the best, ma'am," Jessika told her, her dark eyes grave and her voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Anniversary of what?" Finn asked curiously, voicing the question that Rey was dying to ask.

"His mother's death. She died when he was only eight years old," Leia told him gently, her face clouded with grief. "She was a brave woman and a brilliant pilot – I was honoured to have served alongside her … "

The ready room fell silent.

*

"Well that explains a lot," Rey remarked soberly. "He just disappeared this morning after breakfast … _you_ know where he is though – don't you?" Rey demanded accusingly of BB-8. The little droid reversed warily, giving a low and long beep of apprehension. "Is he all right?"

BB-8 whistled helplessly and Rey sighed. "Of course not … how could he be?" 

The droid's head swivelled around left, right and then left again and then lowered his spherical head a little surreptitiously. BB-8 gave a conspiratorial beep and began rolling away down the hall.

"Follow you where?" Rey demanded and then looked puzzled as BB-8 entered a small storage closet "This can't possibly be where Poe is - " she pointed out as she stepped into the dark space and the door slid shut behind her. "Uh – "

Before she could continue speaking, the droid whirred and she heard the sound of clicking and then suddenly a small, flickering hologram was being projected into the darkness of the storage closet. Rey's eyes widened as she stared at the blue glow of the hologram, making out the figure of a woman lying on a bed.

Even with the poor quality of the hologram, she could see that the woman had once been very beautiful, her dark hair falling around her face on the pillow as she spoke weakly. "Is it ready … Kes …?"

"Yes … you can start talking now," a man's deep voice spoke although he couldn't be seen. His voice was harsh with grief that Rey could feel, even filtered as it was through the almost metallic sharpness of the recording.

"Poe … my little boy … I am so sorry …" the woman who must be Shara Bey whispered in a voice weakened by illness. She turned her head towards the device that was creating the hologram. "I have to leave you … again …" 

Her voice trembled. "I know we haven't had enough time together and it hurts me to think that I'm going away again … the Rebellion needed us – you did, too, I know that… please don't think I didn't know that – but if we didn't stop the Empire, then there would have been no chance of a future for you … we had to fight to give you a chance to grow up in the kind of world I wanted for you … but we had so little time together when you were a baby … I missed you every day I was away from you … every single day … And then when we came to live here, we were so happy …" she gave a faint smile, her voice becoming more shaky. She gave a little gasp of pain and a man stepped forward to hold her in his arms.

"Shara, please - you need to rest." His voice was agonised as he held her against him, his lips pressed to her forehead.

"No! I don't have much time left. I need to do this …" Shara Bey's voice strengthened momentarily. ""You're going to have to be brave again, Poe. There was so much more I wanted to show you – to teach you … you're already a better pilot than I ever was and you're going to be so much more … look after your father … don't let him work too hard … and never forget that I love you …"

The hologram cut off abruptly and Rey and BB-8 stood silently in the darkness of the storage closet. Tears were burning in Rey's eyes as she stared ahead blindly. BB-8 beeped at her in a subdued fashion.

"No ... I promise … I won't tell anyone … but thank you … thank you for showing me." She reached out her hand in the darkness … blindly … and BB-8 rolled forward so that her fingertips were able to touch the top of his head. It hurt the heart to think of Poe being given the hologram by his father... of Poe giving it to BB-8 so that he could replay it for him and the little droid keeping the memory safe for the Resistance pilot ... 

*

"I’m fine." Poe spoke without turning around. Rey had walked through the forest at a quick pace and then approached the man by the shore with what she had thought was a silent tread.

"How did you know I was here?" Rey asked quietly, standing a short distance away from Poe who sat at the lake's edge staring out at the tranquil waters. The breeze had tousled his hair and Rey found herself longing to run her fingers through the dark curls.

"I always know when you're nearby." That startling revelation made it impossible for her to speak for a moment and he took advantage of the silence. "I'm OK – really. It was a long, long time ago. I've had more than enough time to get over it."

"Can you ever really get over it?" Rey asked curiously. "I don't even remember my parents but … I still miss them …" she confided. "Does that sound silly?"

Poe rose to his feet and walked over and stared into her eyes steadily. "Not silly at all," he told her gently and raised his hand to cup her face.

"Do you do this every year?" she asked curiously and he nodded. 

"If I'm not on a mission yes … she liked the water … said she found it soothing… " His eyes grew a little distant. "You would have liked her … she was a lot like you – strong and fierce … but also gentle and kind …"

"But she was very beautiful …" Rey contradicted and Poe's brows lifted. He glanced around at the tree-line that heralded the start of the thick forest.

"Clearly someone's been spilling secrets … could it have been small, round and orange?" he asked whimsically.

Rey flushed guiltily, not wanting to betray BB-8. 

"Could it have been the same little droid who gave away my location?" Poe questioned, amusement threading his voice. "Come out buddy – I'm not angry."

BB-8's head popped out from behind a tree.

"No, it's fine," Poe told him. The droid uttered a series of rapid low and plaintive beeps and whistles. 

"He doesn't like seeing you sad," Rey interrupted the droid. 

"I know."

"He thought that maybe I could help …not sure how … I haven't spent much time around people – I don't really know how to say the right things," she confessed with a shrug and gave up, electing instead to just give him a very awkward hug.

Poe's arms came up around her immediately and he closed his eyes, breathing deeply of her scent. She used the same soap as him. Not just the same military issue soap – it was the same soap from his Refresher … and yet she managed to smell deliciously inviting.

"That hologram is all I have left of my parents… sharing it with you does make me feel better," he said with a crooked smile.

He put his arm around her shoulders and they walked back to the base slowly with BB-8 trailing alongside them.

"That doesn't mean you're off the hook, BB-8," Poe told his droid. "And if you share anything else with Rey I'm going to trade you in for scrap!"

"Like that time you lost that bet on Corellia?" Rey asked mischievously and Poe laughed despite himself.


	17. Not Ticklish (Rey/Poe, established relationship)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Given how depressing the last scribble was, I felt like doing a fluffy one :) Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

Poe smiles. Rey's hair falls around her face as she lowers her head and kisses Poe's jaw. He's shaved before going to bed to spare her the beard rash his stubble always seems to give her. 

"How about this?" she asks, tracing a tapering fingertip down the side of his ribs as they lie on their sides facing one another in his bunk. To be honest, Poe's not sure why they even bother to keep separate quarters at the Base anymore given that Rey comes to stay in his quarters pretty almost every night. A very affronted BB-8 gets shut up in the closet so that he doesn't inadvertently capture their adventures for posterity in his memory core. Sometimes the droid takes his archiving duties a little too seriously and more than once, Poe or Rey have found themselves blinking into BB-8's curious eye during an inopportune moment and then have to order the little astromech droid to rewind and delete.

"Nope," Poe answers with a grin.

His body tightens as her small hand slides lower down his body, tantalisingly and knowingly. She's come a long way ... In the beginning it was Poe who had Rey whimpering and begging for more as he showed her delight and pleasure. The tables have turned and she's learned quickly and more frequently than not, he's the one groaning for more. 

"How about this?" she asks, her fingertips fluttering against his calves.

"Still no."

Rey frowns and her hand slides lower, sensuality completely forgotten in her determination to find his Achilles Heel.

"Rey – I'm not ticklish. Anywhere," he tells her in amused resignation as she is now sitting at the opposite end of his bunk tickling his feet with an intent expression on her face. 

"It's just wrong that you're not ticklish," she mutters beneath her breath, her hair falling over her frustrated face as she tickles different parts of his feet without any sign of success.

"Academy training," he tells her with a straight face, folding his hands behind his head as he watches her nonchalantly with his head propped up on the pillow. "They teach us to resist tickling at the same time we learn flight manoeuvres."

"Not funny."

"It's a little bit funny." The smile fades from his face as she approaches him determinedly, a faintly naughty smile on her face, her dark eyes alight with mischief.

"Using the Force would be cheating," he jibes, playing for time. Rey's mouth slides down the side of his throat and Poe groans as she trails kisses down his bare chest lingeringly.

"Any more wisecracks?" she asks him.

"Always," he manages to gasp as her mouth goes even lower. Then he loses the power of speech entirely and gives up. Rey's mouth curves into a wicked smile. Poe might not be ticklish but he has a number of other weaknesses that she's prepared to exploit – and quite ruthlessly, too.


	18. A Wookiee's Kiss (Rey/Poe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt:** Imagine Person A holding Person B while laying in bed. Person A kisses Person B’s forehead, thinking Person B is asleep. Just before Person A gives Person B another kiss, Person B turns and their lips touch. Bonus if Person A is blushing. Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some silly random fluff written in response to a prompt I saw on one of the blogs I follow :)

"Stay tonight… if you like … ," Poe told her gently. 

"Are you sure?" Rey asked hesitantly.

"Yes," he replied gravely. "Otherwise I'll have to walk you back to your quarters and I'm way too tired for that."

"My room is just across the hall from yours," she exclaimed accusingly, a laugh in her voice.

"It's been a long day!" Then the laughter left his dark eyes. "I'm serious … stay …"

They were both lying side by side in his bunk, not touching – she under the blankets, he on top and they had been talking about … everything. It was easier to talk when it was just the two of them, alone in his quarters. During the day – everyone was around them and it often felt as though everyone wanted their time … Poe had his squadron to deal with, orders from the General and the Admirals … Rey had training with Luke Skywalker, flight lessons on the sim from Nien Nunb, hand to hand combat lessons with Finn and the others …

The best they could manage was a brief 'hi' in the cafeteria or a 'how's everything going' as they passed one another in the halls. They had learned to make do with a glance across a crowded room, a wry expression or a faint quirk of the lips as they shared a wordless moment.

"Is this sexual frustration I see, Commander?" Jess teased him one morning as Poe sat yawning over his coffee and looking a little glum, brows drawn into a heavy frown and his mouth drooping at the corners.

"It's not like that," he had told her reprovingly. "Look to your own love life and stay out of mine."

"Oooh, definitely sexual frustration," she had replied incorrigibly, shaking her head with a look of sympathy that was entirely insincere. Her ponytail swung jauntily as she gave him a knowing look.

"Give it a rest, Jess," he had told her.

"She likes you, you know. A lot," Jess had told him with uncharacteristic seriousness. It wasn't an unusual situation by any means. The Commander was easy on the eyes. He was charming, funny and by far the best pilot in the Resistance – still better than any of the New Republic pilots, too for that matter. It was fairly commonplace for the commander to have adoring fans of various genders following him around and attempting to attract his attention. Still, this was something quite different and Jess had started to wonder if for the first time since she'd known him, the Commander might be falling, too.

"It's complicated," he had found himself saying.

"It is and it isn't. If you like her back, then that's all well and good. If you don't and you just mess around with her, the General and Luke Skywalker will probably find new and extremely horrific ways to punish you."

"I think it's time you went and did the walk around with Goss." His voice had been firm and the subject had been closed. Jess had obeyed but there had been a knowing look in her dark eyes. 

It wasn't so much the fury of the General and the Jedi Skywalker that had Poe hesitating – although those were certainly considerations. It was Rey herself. She was a contradictory mix of experience and inexperience, maturity and naiveté. It felt wrong to even consider getting involved with someone who still had so many things to learn and experience.

Nonetheless, common sense always flew out the window in the evenings when she knocked on his door. He always let her in despite his better judgment and they'd stretch out on the bed and talk. He couldn't even remember how it had started … it might have been when he'd heard her having nightmares …or maybe she'd heard him having nightmares. Whichever it was, here they were now, side by side talking about everything and nothing.

It was unsettling how comfortable and easy it was for them to talk … how easily they had fallen into this daily routine… Poe was able to speak to her in a way that he'd never been able to with anyone else before and he could see that the reserved Rey was being far more candid and honest with him than she was with any others at the Base - even Finn and Jess. It was possible she might have confided things to Nunb but who would ever know? The Sullustan could be as enigmatic as a stone wall when he wanted.

As the conundrum of their relationship/non-relationship was not something that he was likely to be able to resolve tonight, after convincing her to stay, he allowed himself to relax and start drifting off into sleep. 

Rey turned her head and watched as Poe's thick lashes fluttered and his voice became drowsy mid-sentence. He'd be asleep in seconds based on previous nights… she'd learned to recognise the telltale signals … the deepening of his breathing, the way his whole body relaxed... 

His slumbering unconsciousness gave her unexpected courage and after only a second's hesitation, she snuggled closer to his warm body.

Remaining very still, she waited. After she heard a faint snoring, she brushed her lips across his forehead. Feeling even more bold, she leaned forward to kiss his forehead again but at that moment, Poe turned his head towards her and her lips brushed against his lips instead ...

She stiffened, holding her breath in an agony of suspense as she tried to determine if he was awake or still asleep. 

"No Chewie .. no ..." he muttered in Shyriiwook,"This isn't right …"

"You're awake!" she exclaimed accusingly, laughing despite herself. Poe's eyes snapped open, his dark eyes filled with unholy amusement.

"No, I swear I thought you were a Wookiee," he protested outrageously and she relaxed, her initial embarrassment at being caught out falling away.

His mouth curved and he put his arm around her and drew her close to him for a hug. "Go to sleep," he suggested.

But Rey was wide awake. "Is it a bit strange that we're in bed together?" she asked him curiously. 

Poe hesitated for a moment before replying. "There's nothing wrong with it he," assured her,"but yes … some people might think it's a bit … unusual."

"Because there's no sex," she said flatly. Before he could say anything, she continued. "I do know things you know … everyone here treats me like I'm a child. And I'm not."

"Rey - I do not think you're a child," Poe told her firmly. 

She ignored him. "There was a bordello at Niima Outpost and I used to have to go in there when spacers wanted to examine the space junk before buying it from Unkar Plutt. I saw things. All kinds of things."

Poe looked amused. "What did you think of what you saw?"

Rey thought about it for a moment. "Sometimes it was really noisy … sometimes it looked uncomfortable … have you ever seen a Trandoshan and a - "

"I can imagine," Poe muttered with feeling.

"I don't have to imagine it. I saw it!" Rey told him emphatically. "Some of them looked like they were having fun … some looked like they were asleep…"

"Probably not doing it right," Poe murmured wickedly.

"Some looked like they didn't want to be there at all."

"Definitely not doing it right then," he told her seriously.

Rey stared at him for a long moment and Poe shook his head. "And tonight's not the night to be getting into that sort of thing," he told her firmly even as his body was telling him something quite different.

Rey lay back down and a faintly knowing smile curved her full lips. "What are you smiling about?" Poe demanded suspiciously.

"Nothing," she replied demurely.

Poe sank back onto the pillow, not sure whether he was amused or terrified.


	19. A Bit Of A Crush (Rey/Poe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Visual Dictionary says: _"Though brash, Dameron had great charisma and limitless respect for the founders of the Resistance, particularly Leia Organa. Dameron's fellow pilots joked that, if the Resistance had recruitment posters, Dameron would triple their numbers with his dashing bravado alone."_
> 
> I figure being stuck on Jakku with aliens and grubby spacers, Rey's probably never had a crush on anyone before :) Set after The Force Awakens but written before The Last Jedi came out.
> 
> *
> 
> Thanks to daylightspeaks for her help on this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up a bunch of [propaganda posters](http://koalathebear.livejournal.com/1544970.html) just for this snippet and ended up getting distracted by the pretty :P

It was all a bit embarrassing, really. It had started as a joke. Blue Squadron had always joked around that if the Resistance had recruitment posters, Poe Dameron would have tripled their numbers with his dashing bravado and careless good looks alone.

Taking it to the next level had been Jess's idea of course. Mischief like this was always Jess' idea and she was the one who'd come up with the idea of making up mock recruitment posters using Commander Dameron's image.

"Oh hell, you are going to get it, big time, Pava..." Snap warned her even though his eyes had danced with amusement.

"But it'll be so worth it," she had retorted and Rey had watched in fascination as Jess had worked her magic, downloading a few old Imperial recruitment posters from the Base's datacore. 

"Wow, my parents used to deface those, when they were younger," Snap reminisced nostalgically.

"Mine, too. Now watch and learn," she told Rey and she had stared in fascination as Jess used some images of the leader of Blue Squadron to create some dramatic recruitment posters

Everyone had their own personal favourite. Rey secretly liked all of them and thought that they made Poe Dameron look like a dashing hero from the stories of old. 

 

*

_It's a pity we can't actually use these_ , Nien Nunb mused, studying the screen with great interest.

"Our numbers would certainly increase," Snap agreed. Being a resistance, all recruitment was necessarily of a covert nature so Recruitment posters simply wouldn't have been possible.

" _Where_ did you get these images of Poe from?" Rey asked, staring at them in bemusement. The poses were very … dramatic and didn't seem like something the commander would do as a matter of course.

Jess' lips twitched. "It's possible when we had a bit too much rum the other evening, we convinced him to pretend to pose with us for recruitment posters - if the Resistance made recruitment posters that is ... He didn't know we were actually capturing his poses..."

"There's no _we_ about it," Snap retorted. "I was drunk, too – Corellian rum is a lot stronger than I'm used to. I had no idea you were being so sneaky ...where was the imager?"

Nien Nunb looked a little guilty and Snap's eyes widened. "You?"

Jess laughed. "Yes, he was hiding behind a bush. Honestly Nunb – you're a genius. I had no idea you had such a talent with an imager. What other talents are you hiding from us?"

The Sullustan looked down modestly and preened a little while Rey continued to stare rather intently at the fake recruitment posters. They were, without a doubt, stunning. She'd had little to do with Blue Squadron's leader, truth be told, but it was clear to anyone who had spent any amount of time at the Base that he was greatly respected and well-liked by his fellow pilots. He was the General's most trusted pilot and always had a ready smile on the occasions when he and Rey had encountered one another.

Rey had listened intently as the other pilots had recounted tales of Poe's bravery and his achievements in battle, both with the Resistance's Starfighter Corps and with the New Republic Starfleet before that. He was selfless in battle – risking himself before he would risk the lives and safety of his squadron.

"He's saved my life more times than I can count," Snap had told her soberly.

"Mine, too but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun," Jess had retorted.

"You are so evil, Jess..."

"Why does everyone always say that?" Jess demanded, the devilry brimming in her dark eyes.

*

The appearance of the posters on screens all over the Base caused a great deal of amusement for everyone – the General included who had studied the _"Fly with the best"_ poster silently for a moment and then burst out laughing.

Poe endured the ribbing in good humour, taking it all within his stride even when the posters suddenly appeared in the middle of mission briefings and debriefings. Various droids around the base projected holographic versions of the posters when he walked past and once when he was sitting in the mess trying to eat his breakfast, a giant version of one of the posters appeared on the screen behind him.

He had glanced up at his own face looking down at him with stoic heroism and he had continued eating as if nothing had happened.

When members of the technical crew asked for his autograph, he acceded with grace and humour. All of this only made him seem even more appealing to Rey who found herself becoming increasingly tongue-tied in his presence.

"How's the training going?" he asked her one day as he walked past.

"Good," was all she managed to spit out before he was out of sight and she was frustrated with herself for her awkwardness. In person, he was even more attractive and appealing than he was on the posters if that was possible – his tousled dark curly hair brushed back from his friendly face, his brilliant smile... She'd met plenty of spacers during her time on Jakku both human and alien but she'd never seen anyone with as much careless glamour and charm as Poe Dameron.

Since seeing him executing training manoeuvres with his squadron in his T-70 X-wing, _Black One_ she had become even more star-struck - if that was possible ...

The current generation of fighter pilots venerated the past with manoeuvres named after heroes of the Galactic Civil War. "That one's called the _Skywalker Swoop_ ," Master Luke had pointed out to her with more than little pride in his voice as the two of them had stood on the tarmac and watched Blue Squadron during a training session.

"That's the _Antilles Intercept_ – and that one's the _Porkins Belly Run_ … I flew with both of them at the Battle of Yavin." Luke's voice became a little distant as Rey studied the flight manoeuvres, mesmerised and filled with admiration.

"I wish I could fly an X-wing," Rey confided to Jess wistfully later that day. "I was watching Poe during training today …" her voice trailed off.

Jess' eyes danced. "Oooh – are the recruitment posters working on you, Rey? Who'd have thought? Bit of a crush have we?" she teased her friend.

Rey pretended to laugh it off. "Of course not! I just admire his flying abilities," she replied. A part of Rey genuinely did yearn to join the Resistance's Starfighter Corps. Its pilots, generally sourced from worlds liberated by the New Republic from the worst of the Empire's oppression were brave, scrappy and committed to the cause. Blue Squadron in particular was a tight-knit group, brave and determined –eager to bring the battle to the First Order. It was a family and for someone like Rey, that felt like everything she'd ever wanted.

“I’d love to join the squadron …”she confided.

"No reason you couldn’t," the other girl told her. "Your sim results have been excellent."

Rey grimaced. "I get the feeling that the General and Master Skywalker have other things planned for me."

Jess shrugged. "Who says you can't be a Jedi and a pilot? Master Luke was a commander in the Rebellion – he fought during the Battles of Yavin and Endor."

"That's true …" Rey mused reflectively.

"Although if you end up in his squadron, chain of command means that you won't be allowed to do anything about that crush of yours," Jess teased her and Rey blushed.

"I don't have a crush!" 

Jess' eyebrows shot up. "Hey, the Force might make it easier for you to resist the commander's charms but it doesn't make you _completely_ immune!"

Rey started laughing. It was impossible to be offended with Jessika Pava … and after years of living alone, there was something incredibly wonderful about this sort of interaction, even if it was in the form of teasing.

*

“I've never worn a flight-suit before," Rey remarked, staring down at the deep orange colour of Jess' uniform. Jess handed her the padded flight gauntlets which she put on. 

“It suits you,” Jess told her sincerely.

Rey felt like the real thing with her detachable holster, ejection harness, signal flares strapped to her leg, flight belt … flight vest. Jess and Master Skywalker had sat with her through her last six training sessions on the sim and Master Skywalker in particular had waxed long and lyrics about how best to control the X-wing.

Rey briefing considered taking her revenge and teasing Jess back given how starstruck the young pilot appeared to become in Master Skywalker's presence but she was too busy trying to memorise all of the advice being given to her both both pilots before her first time up in an actual X-wing.

*

"Who the _hell_ is that?" Poe demanded as he stood on the tarmac beside Skywalker and Jess who were watching three X-wings go soaring through the sky above the base. 

"Snap and Nunb, sir," Jess replied demurely.

"And the third one?" he demanded as the unidentified X-wing performed a textbook climbing turn with a constant bank and smoothly increased pitch altitude during the first 90 degrees and a constant pitch attitude and smoothly decreasing bank during the second 90 degrees.

Poe watched silently as the third starfighter performed a perfect barrel roll and then swooped down past the other two fighters as they went into hot pursuit. 

"Antilles intercept …" he muttered beneath his breath, his dark eyes widening as admiration was apparent from his voice.

"And there it is!" Luke cheered as Rey performed a perfect Skywalker Swoop before Poe's astonished eyes. "Taught her that myself," he told the squadron leader.

"Rey? That's Rey up there?" Poe demanded "I thought she was still in sim training."

"Apparently not," Jess murmured in a low voice. "Awesome work," she breathed as Snap and Rey performed the Antilles Manoeuvre against Nunb.

"I thought I'd given orders that no one's to do the Antilles Manoeuvre without prior approval from me," Poe exclaimed.

"Come on, this is in training - it's not like there are any TIE fighters around …" she glanced over and started grinning as she looked at the look of admiration on the commander's face as he noted Rey's technique … her precision …

"She's pretty good, isn't she commander?"

"More than just pretty good," Poe muttered beneath his breath as watched.

"Hmmm, someone else with a bit of a crush," she remarked mischievously.

"Who else has a crush?" he demanded. He stopped abruptly. "Not that I have a crush," he told her firmly "Jeez Jess - you are completely and absolutely incorrigible."

"But lovable, just so very darned lovable," she reminded him.

*

"That was some pretty impressive flying there, Rey," Poe remarked, when an unrepentant, flushed Rey stood in front of him, still in her flight suit.

"Any chance of me joining Blue Squadron?" she wanted to know.

"Recruitment posters worked, did they?" he teased her

"More than you know," she told him, a slight blush heating up her cheeks.

Poe's eyes widened. He cleared his throat a little self-consciously. "Do you want my autograph?" he joked.

"And more," she replied boldly, taking a step towards him.

BB-8 rolled into the room, took one look at the pair of them and then went rolling out again beeping madly at maximum volume.

Standing outside the hangar, Jess Pava's eyebrows rose sharply. "OK ...More than just a bit of a crush then …"


End file.
